Southern Paranormal - Investigations
The Opera House
Saturday 7th January 2006 - 9pm – 5.30am
Attending Investigators – Dorset & Hants Team Julie Harwood, Brian Ward, Sue Ward, Steve Gilbert, Ed Ashton, Wayne Blyth, Alison Blyth, David Ireland, Simon Harwood, Maureen Taylor. London & Essex Team Jai Sepple & Harri Sepple.
Guest Investigators – Emma Carter & Suzanne Gilbert
Staff Present – Keith Barnes
Background
When Brian first announced to the group that he had arranged for us to investigate Bournemouth’s premier nightclub there were a few puzzled faces. When he told us it was the Opera House in Boscombe the look of confusion turned into a look of excitement.
This beautiful building was built in the 1890’s and was opened on the 17th May 1895 as Boscombe’s Grand Theatre.
The new theatre offered a range of
entertainment from Musicals to Comedy however the theatre was sold in the late
1890’s but carried on to produce some high class entertainment for the wealthy
in Bournemouth.
In 1902 it became The Boscombe Hippodrome a very successful music hall. Details of its use between 1905 and the 1950’s are sketchy, many people have tried to delve into its past only to hit a brick wall however it is known that acts such as David Devant & Tony Hancock performed here in this time.
In the 1950’s a circus used to regularly perform at the venue and elephant and animal cages still exist under the theatre, although these areas are closed to the public.
In the 1960’s the building was revamped as a music venue (Starkers Royal Arcade Ballrooms) and hosted acts as famous as Pink Floyd, Status Quo, Led Zeppelin, Thin Lizzy and David Bowie.
In the 1980’s as disco mania was taking off the building became the Academy Nightclub and the building was given a multi million pound refurb and started to cater for all types of musical taste. Bands it hosted in the eighties range from The Sisters of Mercy to Frankie Goes to Hollywood but the popularity of rave music saw it host evenings such as Fantasia, Wild Turkey and Parhelion in the 90’s.
From 1994
until now it has been called The Opera House and 1997 saw the launch of Slinkys.
Other high profile brands that have used the venue over the last few years were:
• Saturday National Lottery live on BBC1 with guests Steps and Mick Hucknall
• MTV
• Rapture TV _ Live from Slinky in 2001
• 2CR summer party with live pop acts
The wonderful and overwhelming thing about this building apart from its fantastic history of entertainment is the way that even in 2006 most of the theatres original features remain intact as the property has listed building status.
It seems, on the face of it such a
waste to use this beautiful building as a nightclub however if you think about
it, to this day it is still entertaining people, which un doubtebly is what it
was built for.
Many thanks to Alice, Keith and all the staff of the Opera House that made our visit possible.
Some images and text were obtained from the Opera House website
Sample of sightings
A Clown has reportedly been seen on the ground floor
Clapping/applause has been heard from the balcony area (this was heard by a member of staff who was alone in the building locking up)
A girl has been seen running along the length of the back bar, then she disappears
Several staff past and present have seen the figure of a lady near their offices, in the back bar and on the balcony
Baseline Tests – Completed by David, Alison, Steve, Simon, Jai & Harri
Balcony area – Temperature 14.5 – 12 fluctuating, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations, Humidity reading 53%, Water tanks creating dripping sounds, floors squeaky, because of acoustics small sounds appeared magnified. Group hear what sounds like a woman giggling. Be aware of white sheets hanging from roof.
Tunnels – Temperature 7, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations, Humidity reading 51%, very cold, very dusty. Baseline investigators experienced small stones moving around as if being thrown.
Middle Stairs – Temperature 14, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations. Stairs very solid, not much creaking.
Back “Benedict” Bar – Temperature 9-10 fluctuating, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations apart from near bar area/fridge’s/cash registers/pumps – normal. Humidity reading 48.3%. Area very cold – very noticeably different to rest of building. While completing baseline tests one of the investigators was sure they saw someone run from the area. Ultra Violet lamps for glowing posters.
VIP (Team Room) Area – Temperature 15, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations apart from near bar area/fridge’s/cash registers/pumps – normal.
Stage Area – Temperature 13, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations. Water dripping sound from water storage tanks.
Dance Floor Area – Temperature 12.5, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations. Wooden Floor, breezes felt – possible cause fire exits.
Entrance Hall – Temperature 11, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations.
Small Bar area opp VIP area – Temperature 12.5, EMF reading normal (00.1-00.3) no fluctuations. Lots of mirrors. Leather furniture – beware of creaking. Very dark room even though it is not enclosed.
TEAM TO BE AWARE OF ULTRA VIOLET LAMPS THROUGHOUT CLUB (NOT VISIBLE TO NAKED EYE)
Team Lists
Team 1
Julie
Brian
Ed
Simon
Team 2
Alison
Steve
Suzanne
Team 3
Wayne
David
Jai
Harri
Team 4
Sue
Maureen
Emma
Keith
Equipment
Locked off Night Vision camcorder – left hand side of the balcony facing/looking down to dance floor/stage area
Locked off Night Vision camcorder – 2 hours Main Entrance / Lobby
Locked off Night Vision camcorder – 2 hours On Dance Floor Area
Motion detectors & Dictaphone – Cloakroom balcony
Dictaphone – VIP Team room
Each team – 1 x Night vision camcorder, 1 x EMF meter, 1 x Temperature gun, Note pad & Pen, Dictaphone if required.
Vigils
10.00pm – 11.00pm Tour of the building and baseline tests completed
11.15pm – 12.00am Whole group séance on dance floor
12.15am – 1.15am Vigil 1
Team 1 – Back “Benedict” Bar
Team 2 – Third Floor & staircase
Team 3 – Ground floor, stage & dance floor
Team 4 – Balcony area
Because of large vigil areas and the need to keep noise to a minimum teams amalgamate.
1.30am – 2.45am Vigil 2
Teams 1 & 2 – Ground floor, stage & dance floor
Teams 3 & 4 – Back “Benedict” Bar
3.00am – 4.00am Vigil 3
Teams 1 & 2 – Balcony area
Teams 3 & 4 – Third Floor & offices
4.00am – 4.30am All team investigate the tunnel areas
4.30am Team pack up and leave
Team / Vigil Notes
Team 1 – 1st Vigil
12.15am Back Bar
12.16am For the first part of the vigil we sat just inside the double doors
12.18am Team comment on how cold the area feels, temperature 9.
12.20am EMF meter goes off the scale on the dance floor area and by speakers (although speaker are turned off), when he comes round to us on the bench seating area it cuts off completely.
12.25am No response from calling out so we move round to main bar and dance floor / stage area. All team still feel very cold.
12.28am Julie stood by bar (aprox half way along length), was not moving and heard a loud creak on the floor behind her. Just as she was about to say to rest of the team, there was a loud thud behind the bar but next to her. This was heard by Simon who was the closest to Julie at the time.
12.30am Team call out for the noises to be repeated but nothing is heard.
12.35am Team sit by speaker as side of dance floor. Julie and Simon feel like it is getting colder and colder by the minute. Temperature taken 10.5 so it has actually increased in temperature slightly.
12.42am Brian is stood in the middle of the stage area. He feels a cold breeze come at him / towards him , like it was passing through him. He said his front felt cold but his back was warmer. Temperature taken. His back was 8 and his front was 10 ?
12.57am Julie for no reason thinks of the name Willomena. Team try calling out this name but there is no response.
1.07am Calling out again all team hear 2 loud knocks towards the stage end of the room
1.10am Team hear a further knock after calling out, slightly louder but nothing further
Team 2 – 1st Vigil
3rd Floor and staircase
Alison feels uneasy on her feet on the staircase
Alison & Suzanne hear a shuffling noise coming from upstairs
Team 1 & 2 – 2nd Vigil
1.30am Ground Floor, Stage & Dance Floor
1.31am both team take a little while to wander round the area taking some pictures and seeing if anything can be picked up
1.45am Team decide to try glass divination in the small eating area behind the bar. Letters were placed round the table, results are below –
Z,Z,Z
3
Z, Z, Z
Used to work here – Yes
Owner – no response
Performed here - Yes
Entertainer – yes
Actor – no response
Comic – Yes
First name – Z, Z, Z
Is this your act name? – yes
Are there 3 of you? – yes
Are you clowns? – Headed towards the yes
Are you playing with us – circling movement of glass
Are there 3 of you here now – yes
Are they part of your troupe / act? – yes
Glass then went to many other letters and numbers that the group could not make any sense out of. It went so quickly to some we did not have time to note them down.
Breezes are felt by some members of the team however as we are down a corridor / tunnel shape we can not be sure that it is not just a draught
All the group hear a loud bang from the stage / dance floor area that we can not see.
Glass stops moving and we can get no more response
Teams 1 & 2 – 3rd Vigil
3.00am – 4.00am Balcony areas
Very little is experienced in this area apart from some of the group thinking they could hear very faint music playing.
Julie also saw a red flash of light when looking down to the dance floor, then a second one seconds later, also seen by Ed.
Team 3 – 1st Vigil
Ground Floor, Stage and Dance Floor area
Whole area temperature 14 – 14.5 fluctuating
Wayne sees a shadow go across the light and at the same time David takes a picture and captures an orb / light anomaly
Harri and David try and invite the clowns to join them by singing and humming circus music. No response observed.
Team 4 – 1st Vigil
12.35am Team in balcony area
12.36am Temperature reading 13.5
12.40am Team hear footsteps behind them at the same time light anomalies were caught on night vision camcorder and digital cameras
12.50am Temperature has increased to 15 however Emma feels a lot colder and moves to other side of balcony
12.55am Sue senses a very male presence
1.00am Temperature has dropped back down to 12 and team feels a very cold chill around their legs
1.10am Team senses a presence to the left-hand side of the balcony
Teams 3 & 4 – 2nd Vigil
Back Bar
Teams attempt some table tipping – no result gained
Glass divination – More detailed results can be seen in peoples personal reports however they believed they contacted a little girl & a man that were not related. Male was not grounded but was preventing the little girl from moving on.
Teams 3 & 4 – 3rd Vigil
2.45am Third Floor and Offices
3.00am Temperature 8
3.01am Sues fully charged camcorder completely dies, Wayne carries on filming with the spare camcorder
3.02am Team attempt glass divination – more details of this can be seen in personal reports however some details are below –
Lots of bangs coming from under the table
Name of person contacted began with C
Man or Boy (Male)
Bangs under the table becoming more and more prominent
Glass moved but then tipped over
Glass appears to be jumper on the table even though investigators fingers are on top of it
Knows the girl downstairs
Knows the man downstairs
They ask to speak to the man
The glass started to spell P F N U G N G O
The spelt out K I L L
When asked did you kill the children the glass started to go to yes but did not quite reach it
Investigators closed down the session
Personal Reports
Julie Harwood
To be honest there was not a better way to start the New Year than an investigation at Bournemouth’s premier nightclub, The Opera House. I was very excited at the prospect of spending the night here and was glad when a good number of us agreed to go even though it was arranged fairly late notice.
It was a Saturday night and instead of the heaving crowds that the building is used to, it stood empty closed for its only Saturday night of the year.
After setting up our camera’s and having a good look round the building we decided before vigils to have a large group séance in the auditorium right in front of the stage. I must admit it was very very creepy. There is something too quiet about an empty theatre.
I sat out of the séance with Wayne who was doing the filming, Simon, Maureen & Keith and just observed. On several occasions we did hear a few strange noises that we could not immediately explain however the building was still settling down and because a lot of the building and fittings are wood, I could not deny that these noises may have been caused by this. The strange thing was that half way through the séance the people involved were laughing at something that had been said but the Myself, Keith, Wayne and Maureen all heard a series of quiet loud taps coming from behind us which made us all look round. Unfortunately because the rest of the group were laughing they did not hear it. Another odd thing was that many of the group heard what sounded like one of the bars on the fire exit being moved up and down. I did not think anything of this until today when I read a piece on the internet that mentions the same kind of phenomena. Please see - http://archive.thisisdorset.net/2003/10/30/75281.html
We then started our vigils. I was in a team with Brian, Ed and Simon and our first vigil was in the back bar area on the first floor. At the time I was unaware of this but this is the area where a girl has been seen running down the length of the bar, which is very very long, before disappearing. Fairly early on in there, Brian had popped out to see one of the other groups and Ed and Simon were on the stage. I was stood at the bar, in the middle when I heard a large creak behind me and then a loud thump that Simon also heard. This thump was not like the electrical sounds of the fridge’s or computers, this was a very definite thump on the floor but definitely the other side/staff side of the bar. This was all I experienced in this area, apart from being very very cold. The rest of the building was very warm however this whole area was I believe about 8 –10 degrees. Brian however, when he returned was stood on the dance floor and I called out asking for the temperature to be lowered even more. Brian then felt a icy cold go across him. He then went very quiet for the rest of the vigil. At the end he said he felt completely drained.
For our next vigil we joined group 2 (Alison, Steve and Suzanne) and tried glass divination in the small eating area of the ground floor. Ed and Simon observed and myself, Steve, Alison, Brian and Suzanne took part in the experiment. The glass did move after a little while but when we asked it any questions it kept going to the letter Z ? Then it went to some numbers and then back to Z. It answered yes to questions such as were you an entertainer ? Are you playing with us ? We also established he was 1 of 3 spirits present and the other spirits were members of his performing troupe. It was very odd and a lot did not make any sense. During the experiment all members of the team, including the observers heard a loud bang coming from the main hall/stage area and then a thud from the small kitchen area.
With the same group we did our last vigil in the Balcony area. We all spread out and sat quietly before calling out. Some of the team experienced cold draughts but to be honest where myself and Ed sat seemed very still and quiet. The only thing I did see and Ed saw as well was when I was standing up looking down to the stage and floor below. I saw a large red light on the floor, like someone shining a torch with a red bulb. I was just wondering what it was, when it happened again, which is when Ed thought he saw it too. I have no idea what that was.
I had a great night at the Opera House and to be honest although not much happened for me, it was an honour to be able to explore a building with so much history and beautiful architecture. I would love to return one day for another investigation.
Thank you to Alice who made our investigation possible and also to Keith. It was lovely to see you again mate and thank you for joining in with us all night. You were the perfect host. I hope we did not freak you out too much.
Wayne Blyth
I had been looking forward to this investigation because the building has always fascinated me, due to its past history. Being a huge fan of acts like Laurel and Hardy and Tony Hancock, all of whom appeared here in years past, I just had to come and see it for myself.
Our first vigil, done as a whole group, involved everyone standing in a circle holding hands and asking out. There were a few noises heard from different corners of the room and I believe people saw shadows etc, but for me all was quiet, except I am sure I could hear the sounds of a party going on.
After a short break we proceeded to our second vigil. Myself, Justin, Harri and David were dispatched back downstairs. We attempted to remain silent and still but unfortunately, due to the age and size of the hall, I think too much noise was created to be able to experience anything of possible paranormal origins. Although on a couple of occasions, David, Harri and Justin managed to pick up light anomalies on their cameras. Also, (as we had heard stories of clowns being observed) Harri proceeded to hum the classic clown circus tune, to hopefully entice any listening sprits. Unfortunately, this proved fruitless.
Vigil 2 was much better as we merged with Sue’s group and went into the back bar. Here we attempted glass divination. Justin, Harri, David and myself gathered round the table with a glass at the centre. Initially, we started hearing sounds coming from the bar area and from the far corner. At this point the glass started to move. I have been in a few situations where glasses have moved before but this seemed to move in an unusual way. It started to move very slightly and quite “jerkily”. We appeared to make contact with the spirit of a young child, who was being prevented from moving on. We then asked who it was preventing them from moving, to which the answer came “a man”. At the end of the experiment David closed it down and gave the protection required.
Vigil 3 was, for us, upstairs in the board room. This proved to be our most successful experiment. Again we attempted glass divination, but this time with letters placed around the table. We again appeared to make contact with a young child, again having difficulty passing on. The glass appeared to be moving so slightly, but definitely. What was most impressive for me, was that we experienced “knocks” coming from below the table, in response to our questions. I had never had this happen to me before and found the experience very very interesting. I would swear that there were definite knocks coming in response. When we asked for who ever was responsible for preventing the child moving on, the glass started moving in a completely different way. It seemed to be more forceful. The glass moved a couple of times to “hello” and it did confirm it “he” was responsible for the childs predicament. At this point, we, as a group, began to get quite irate with this “being” for holding the child back. The more we tried to antagonise this person, the more extreme the glass appeared to react. On a few occasions, (and this was very impressive to observe, as well as to take part in), the glass actually tried to tip over. Achieving it a couple of times. Chillingly, when asked what he did to the child, the glass spelled out the letters K.I.L.L.
At this point it was decided to end the session, which David did with the usual protection.
Conclusion:
A very impressive building , with an extensive history. I admit to having high expectations. I was not too disappointed. Although still not willing to admit paranormal activity, I am impressed with the occurrences. However, knocks and bangs could very well be the settling of the building, and cold spots could be gaps in doors/walls etc letting in draughts. I cant explain the moving glasses though. I know for a fact that none of the group would deliberately move the glass themselves, and I hope they think the same of me. So how did it move?
More questions than answers are what we take away with us from the Opera House.
Thank you to Keith for giving up his valuable time and for making us all feel welcome.
Brian Ward
After having a look around this lovely building with Alice, the entire group had turned up by this time we decided where to set up lock off camcorders and motion detection units, we all met up in the team room and then split up into our teams.
First as a whole group we decided to do a group séance in the middle of the dance floor. We sat in a circle and said a protection prayer and waited. We all had a go at calling out. After a while the name came into my head Sidney or Cidney with a surname starting with the letter H.
Nothing else happened so we moved off the dance floor to an area were we heard a few tapping sounds. I then came up with the rest of the name it was Sidney or Cidney Hedges I called the name out but nothing happened.
FIRST VIGIL - BENEDICTS BAR AREA.
The team was Julie, Simon, and Ed and I, we settled down sat in the seated area of this bar.It was not warm but it was not cold if you can understand that. We called out a few times but nothing so after about 15 minutes we moved to the dance floor part of this bar. I put some plastic glasses around the bar asking if there was any spirit with us, to knock them to the floor. Nothing happened. We heard some knocking sounds too, they were nothing that I could not explain.
I was stood in the middle of the dance floor for some time all of a sudden a very icy cold
Blast went right through me for some reason this left me feeling very tired and drained
I had to sit down for a while until this feeling left me.
NEXT VIGIL DOWNSTAIRS EATING AREA.
On this vigil we were joined by Steve, Suzanne and Alison we decided to do a glass divination.
We put letters around the table and started with a protection prayer.
After some time the glass started to move very slightly getting a little stronger as the divination went on. Very oddly the glass kept going to Z and 3 we found out there was 3 spirits with us.
The Glass seemed to be not making any sense. I said who ever it was, was with us joking around with us. I thought of what a member of the group on another vigil earlier said. She thought she had seen a clown in the same area which we were in so I asked if there was a clown with us may be 3 clowns and may be with the name of the 3 Zs the glass moved and started going around in a circle
Then taking the glass to different members around the table and letters in no order or may be they could not read.
It was coming to the end of our vigil so we closed down the divination.
Did we make contact with a 3 person comedy clown act with the name of the 3 Zs I don’t think I will ever know.
NEXT VIGIL THE BALCONY
We split into two teams to cover both sides of the balcony area. This balcony area to me had the most atmospheres we all thought we could hear very quit talking which could have been one of the other teams talking in another part of the building or a noise effect from the dripping water somewhere back stage.
After a while we changed sides. now this side I seemed very happy and I could have sat there all night with no problem’s. We all thought we could hear music I could not say what sort of music but there was defiantly faint music. A few heavy knocking sounds and some tapping noises were heard but nothing else.
What can I say about this building it has loads and loads of history and a lot of
Secrets to be told but with time against us we could not investigate all the building
Which I would have loved to have done.
I would like to thank Alice for letting us investigate the opera house and maybe
Sometime in the future Alice will have us back to carry on with the investigation and a big thanks you to Keith for putting up with us all through the night and joining in.
Alison Blyth
My first impressions of the building was fond memories as I used to come to the place in my teens to perform hairdressing shows and of course to The Academy as it was formally known. This made me feel comfortable as I am familiar with the place, but that was to change as the night went on.
I firstly completed the baseline tests with Harri, Justin, Keith , Steve, and David.
The upper floors seemed atmospheric, as they were not a place the public had access to. Sightings had been seen up here, but unfortunately I did not pick up anything out of the ordinary in this area.
As we walked down the stairs on the left hand side to the entrance, I felt very uneasy , and as I reached the fourth step down I felt the need to steady myself. I sensed the presence of a woman who, I feel, fell over the balcony. She seemed to be replaying the night it happened and was just giving me the last few moments of her life. She didn’t identify herself with me and was unaware of our presence. She didn’t seem angry, just upset and confused.
I retraced my steps several times, and felt the same every time.
Our next area was the bar, which was situated just below the adjoining stairways and through the double doors.
The main area seemed quiet and peaceful, but there was a small raised alcove, which had seating placed around in a square. I sat in the spot overlooking the bar to the side, and immediately turned round to face the far wall as I felt someone staring at me. There was no one there but it sent shivers down my spine, as I felt resentment and jealousy. I stayed for a while and picked up a middle-aged woman. She seemed to like her spot and gave me the impression of liking to watch people. Keeping her eye on things.
We wandered down to the balcony area, and immediately I sensed a young woman on the left far side near the royal boxes. She didn’t show herself to me, but gave me a deep saddened feeling as if she had met her death from falling from the balcony. She seemed to be drunk which gave me the impression that she had fallen rather than purposely jumped. As we walked towards the area I heard footsteps behind me as if I was being followed from the small bar area opposite the VIP area. I turned back and ran towards where I had heard the sound, but no one was there.
The dance floor seemed quiet, but I saw a man disappear behind the bar area heading towards the back door. I was in mid sentence to Harri, and we both ran towards it as we both saw this at the same time. No one was there, but as we walked towards the back door, we heard footsteps coming from the back door and what could only be described as a gust of wind. The night was breezeless, so we knew it couldn’t have been caused from high winds outside.
Our first vigil was to complete a group séance in the dance floor area. Loud taps and raps were heard from the exit doors and what could only be described as whispering from the balcony was heard in response to calling out. Bangs were also heard from the same area that we saw our man playing peek a boo. No names were given, but a definite atmosphere of not being alone was felt by all.
We split into smaller groups, and visited our next area. Nothing was experienced on the stairway where I had previously sensed a woman, as we were too close to the other group to be able to distinguish where noises were coming from. As a result of this we joined team 1 and investigated the area behind the bar by the dance floor. We conducted glass divination with letters around the table. We picked up a group of three who kept giving us the initial Z. We asked whether they were clowns to which the reply was yes. Whoever we had encountered with us, we established that they like to play games, and snaked the glass several times. At one point the glass moved with just one finger touching it. We also heard taps beside us, but no firm evidence of a name.
Our final vigil was in the balcony area. Three of us sat one side, and four the other side. The strange thing that happened was that Julie was sat the opposite side of the balcony to me, but heard the same as me. We both heard music and voices as if a party was going on. It wasn’t old music, in fact I kept hearing Toni Braxton’s Unbreak my heart. It was as if it was playing on a loop. Julie and I decided to sit in the small bar area where I had previously heard footsteps, and conducted glass divination. I had a feeling that the woman’s name was Andrea, so asked if her name began with an A. The glass moved to verify a yes gesture. We ran through names beginning with A and were given Ann. She responded when I repeated the words Un break my heart, say you’ll love me again’ which struck me as very strange. She also confirmed that she was 21 and had visited the club on her birthday. She also confirmed that she had met her death from falling from the balcony in the eighties.
We later went down to the basement where I felt some one had pulled at my collar. I automatically assumed that Ed had been stood behind me, but he was not close enough to be able to reach me. Other members also were touched, and earlier in this area stones were thrown at us.
All in all a very interesting night, and I would like to thank Keith for giving up his time to join us for the evening.
Sue Ward
Group séance.
All of the group started of in the main dance floor area and sat on the floor. Julie took photo’s & Wayne recorded on camcorder. Alison did a protection prayer, A few cold spots where felt but we put this down to draughts from a back door. We decided to move to an area away from the dance floor as we had heard a few knocks and bangs there, but nothing happened in this area apart from what sounded like a hand dryer, Alison went to investigate but found nothing.
VIGIL 1, BALCONY.
Myself, Maureen, Emma and Keith ,an opera house member of staff, sat to the right of the balcony. I felt a cold chill when looking over the balcony, and felt a male presence Emma heard what sounded like footsteps behind us, Keith seemed to become nervous so Emma went with him to sit on the couch. Maureen and I stayed on the benches I was using the night vision camcorder and caught two light anomalies. Maureen and I decided to go and sit around the other side of the balcony we felt very cold in this area, but nothing else was felt.
VIGIL 2 BENEDICT’S BACK BAR
We were joined by Justin, Harri, Wayne and David for this vigil Keith found us a table and a glass for a glass divination. David said the protection prayer and Harri started calling out. We heard a few loud knocks to the end of the room, and picked on a lady and small child. Light anomalies were picked on night vision around David and Justin, David and Harri asked if
any other member of the group would call out so Wayne tried, the glass moved quite a lot but it also seemed to jump up off the table. After a while it did not move at all so we closed the table down.
VIGIL 3 TOP OFFICES.
We all sat around the large table in the office, I still carried on with the night vision camcorder. Keith and Emma sat next to me, the rest of the group did another glass divination with the letters and numbers. David did the protection prayer then Harri started calling out. We seemed to have constant knocks from under the table and then the glass started to move to the letters. The letter C started of as a name but the rest of the name was a jumble. After a while my night vision battery died so we used Wayne’s. The glass was moving around to Harri and David’s questions, then Wayne asked a few at one point the glass spelt out GO and then K,I,L,L, at this point we decided to close the table. We where still hearing knocks from under the table all the time the glass was moving, I could not understand why my battery died as it a was fully charged Battery at the start of the vigil and Wayne’s night vision had battery life and half a tape but nothing was recorded although the record button was on record also my torch battery’s were new and they failed as well.
FINAL COMMENTS.
I really enjoyed this investigation, the Opera House has such a vast amount of history and
If we get the chance I would love to revisit.
I would like to thank Alice and to thank Keith for his company and help on our vigils.
David Ireland
Well we have just finished the opera house night club in Bournemouth and I was very impressed with the location. I didn’t have any expectations of the location because I didn’t know how old it was. The opera house was built in the 1800’s and I didn’t know the history of the place either. The club had been used for opera singing, circus acts, comedy acts and a lot of famous bands in the 70’s and 80’s such as thin lizzy and David bowie amongst others. Brian Sue and me arrived at the location at 9:00 and made base camp in the VIP area whilst we waited for the others. Me, Brian and Alison had a walk round to get the feel of the entire building. I was very drawn to the right hand balcony, which is just outside of the VIP room. I saw something out the corner of my eye, which looked like someone run across a beam of light. I then took a picture and caught some very small orbs and then a big one by the pillar. Me, Brian and Alison did a walk round of the entire building to decide which parts where the best for the vigils. Alison picked up on a lady when she was standing on the staircase by the far bar areas. When she stood on three certain steps she couldn’t get her footing and became quite dizzy. She also picked up on the same lady upstairs in the office area, which used to be flats. Apparently one of the ladies that works there saw the reflection of a female standing behind her. Alison didn’t know about this so I was really impressed when she picked it up. Unfortunately I didn’t sense or pick up anything when we were walking round. I think in a way this is good because if Alison and me said that we picked up on everything at the same time it would seem very fake. We met back up with the rest of the team in the VIP room. Julie decided that a big team of us would go round and complete the base line tests. The group was me, Harri, Justin (Harri’s husband), Steve, Suzanne (Steve ‘s wife), Alison, and Simon. The only place of interest to me whilst doing the baseline tests was again the right hand balcony. Alison and I were looking over the balcony when we both distinctly heard a single footstep behind us. We ran up to a little booth that was at the end of the balcony to see if anyone was in there. There wasn’t anyone there. Keith, a guy that works there told me, that there had been a round of applause heard at the very top layer of the night-club. Now that I think about it, it sounded more like a single handclap than a footstep. After we finished doing the baseline tests we all got together and did a massive group séance on the dance floor. Alison led the séance. We all decided to sit on the floor rather than just stand because the floor was quite creaky so we wanted to eliminate the possibility that if we heard any noises it would be someone’s feet moving. She started out with the usual line of questioning. The only thing that we experienced was a draught coming from the exit doors at either side of the room and that was hardly paranormal. We decided to move the séance over to to the left hand side of the room just under the left hand balcony. Alison continued calling out. At first we didn’t get anything but then when Allison continued to call out we all heard what sounded like very slow footsteps coming toward us from the exit door. Alison continued to ask the spirit to come closer to the group and we could still here the footsteps. As they stopped I could distinctly hear a very heavy, very congested male breathing in my right ear. It wasn’t anyone in the group because I was stood next to sue. The footsteps stopped. Then we all heard very clear whispering in the balcony. It sounded like we were performing a show and people were whispering while they were watching us. Unfortunately we ran out of time and I would have liked to continue further with this séance. We got together in our groups and split up to do our vigils. In my team was Me, Wayne, Justin and Harri. Our first vigil area was the ground floor which consisted of the dance floor, stage and ground floor booths. We first started off walking round the stage which was very creaky and full of glasses so we couldn’t perform a séance there. I didn’t pick up on anything the whole first vigil. Justin said that he saw a shadow move over the right hand side of the room so we moved over and sat on some chairs on the other side. Harri was obsessed with seeing a clown because we had told her that the circus used to perform there. We both told each other how we would like to see a clown riding a unicycle whilst juggling. We both sat there and sang the circus tune. I took a picture to my right and caught a very small orb on the wall. The first vigil was over so we met back In the team room. We all decided that because the teams were so close to each other and we could hear each other and wouldn’t be able to do a séance, that teams 1 & 2 would join each other and teams 3 & 4 would join each other. My team had joined Sue, Maureen and Emma (Sue’s daughter). The next area we went to was the far bar area where Allison had picked up on the lady on the staircase. We decided to do a glass divination in the bar area. Me, Justin, Harri and Wayne took part in the séance while Sue filmed, Maureen took notes and Keith and Emma watched. I led the séance and protected the group. I then used the usual line of questioning. As I asked for any spirit person to move the glass there were some loud bangs in the far corner of the room. I asked if the spirit was female. Loud bang over the other side of the room. The information we received was that the spirit was a little girl who died in the building. Unfortunately we couldn’t ascertain what time period she was from. Harri took over the questioning and asked if the little girl was happy. Harri said to answer yes move the glass toward me if no move the glass toward her. She asked again the little girl was happy. The glass moved towards Harri. She asked if the little girl could see the light. The glass move toward her. She then asked if someone was stopping her going to the light. The glass moved toward me. Harri got a bit emotional at this point so I took over. I asked the little girl if the spirit that was stopping her was a man. The glass moved toward me. I asked the little girl if the man was with her now. The glass came to me. I then asked if we could speak to the man. The glass came to me but only very slowly which makes me think that she was very apprehensive about letting the man talk to me. I called out and asked for the spirit of the man to come forward and speak to the group. I began to ask questions but all the spirit did was spin the glass and knock it over. We also got some bangs on the table but didn’t get any specific answers. We then moved up to the office area where the spirit of a lady had been seen. We decided that because the table was a lot smoother that we could perform a glass divination more easily. We also put the letters round the table with numbers so if we contacted anyone they could spell out anything they wanted. I again led the séance and completed the protection. We began to call out and ask for any spirit in the room to come forward and move the glass. For the first few questions I didn’t get any response. I looked over to the side of the room and noticed that the office door had been shut. I asked Keith to open the door to see if we would get any response. I called out again and got a knock under the table. It was a very distinct knock that everyone heard. I asked the spirit if they want to answer yes to a question knock once, to answer no knock twice. I asked if they understand. We got one knock. I asked if they spirit was a female. Everything went quite. I asked if the spirit was male. We got one knock. Harri took over the questioning again to try and ascertain a name. She ran threw the letter of the alphabet and asked the spirit to knock on the table when we got to the first letter of his first name. She got to C and we got a very loud knock. She asked if his name was Charles. Nothing. She asked if his name was Christopher. Loud bang on the table. I told Harri to ask if he plays with the little girl downstairs. She asked and we got a bang on the table. I then asked if he had seen the nasty man downstairs as well. We got a knock on the table. I asked the little boy if the man stopped him going to the light. Everything went quite. I asked the little boy if he was happy. One knock on the table. I asked the little boy if the man was in the room with us he knocked once. I then asked if we could speak with him. He knocked once. I then called out and asked the spirit to come forward and speak with us. The glass began to circle the table. Harri asked him to spell out his name and the glass went to very random letters. We didn’t get any answers in the way of spelling. Harri began to get very angry and started saying “come on you can hurt children but cant spell!”. I then asked him what he had done to the children and the glass tipped and fell over. I then asked again and the glass moved round the table to the letters K…..I……L…..L At this point me and Harri lost our temper and began shouting. I stopped asking questions and just sat in the chair. I felt very strange was in the room but I felt like I was watching myself take part in the séance. We didn’t get anymore answers because the glass stopped moving. I decided to close the séance down because we ran out of time.
Conclusion
If anyone asked me if The Opera House in Bournemouth was haunted I would say without a doubt. I enjoyed this location so much and would like to say a big thankyou to Brian who secured the location, and also to Alice the assistant manager who let us have the entire club all night and to Keith who stayed with us and participated. I would very much like to have a return visit if possible because I believe there is so much history and happenings that we didn’t pick up on. I believe if we went back we would uncover some history.
Maureen Taylor
Séance on the dance floor.
I felt very little here, heard various noises that I feel may well be the perfectly normal creakings and groaning of an old building, along with the various fridge’s etc. dotted around it. I did however, see a red light, about three feet in diameter through an arch to the right hand side of the stage area – it flashed up for about a second, then again a few seconds later, this time lasting for two or three seconds. My first thought was that it was from someone’s camera, but having asked around, it appears that nobody was pointing their camera in that direction at the time. I do, however, feel that this might still be the answer to the phenomenon.
A number of people thought they heard voices, I am not at all certain, I thought that perhaps I could hear the sound of distant voices, but these could well have been distant traffic noise from outside or something of that sort.
Vigil 1
Was the balcony area. We began our vigil seated on the left hand side of the auditorium (as one looks towards the stage area). Very cold here, and Sue said she felt the presence of a man. Both Keith and I, sat either side of a space between the seats had chills running down our backs at one point. Halfway through the vigil we moved to the other side of the area, but felt nothing here. I picked up one orb on camera.
Vigil 2
The back bar area. We tried glass divination in this room, though I sat out this time, and observed and took notes. Unfortunately the only table available had a rather lumpy surface so was not ideal for the purpose. I could not actually see the glass, but could hear it rattling against the table, as if trying to lift itself over the rough parts of the surface of the table. We seemed to have a little girl with us, who was perfectly happy playing around the building, but who was being prevented from leaving; she seemed to be telling us that it was a man who was keeping her there. We eventually abandoned the attempt as it was difficult on a table with such a rough surface. Table tilting gave little in the way of results too. I picked up one orb on camera, this was against the wall to the right of the room as one walked through the door.
Vigil 3
Our final vigil of the night. Groups had combined for this vigil, so there were now eight of us in the group. We gathered in the boardroom and tried glass divination again – with much more positive results this time.
It was some minutes before we got any response to our questions, but finally the glass began to move very very slowly towards me, I could feel it sliding under my finger. Further questioning revealed the presence of a young boy this time. He informed us that he knew of the little girl, but they were not related to one another; he also told us that he was being kept there, against his will, by the same man as before. The glass movements were diminishing by this time, so we asked if it would help if we were to talk to the man, the answer was yes. On asking if he was there we had a positive reply, and appeared to have a different spirit moving the glass for us, because its’ movements were now very different. Not only was it moving around the table faster, but was lifting as well, and on one occasion actually fell over under our fingers. Somewhere around this point Sue’s camcorder died, however, Waynes own camcorder was still running, and did so for another five or ten minutes before that too gave up on us. Glass movements were getting feebler by now and David and Harri started trying to goad the spirit into making some response, but little happened, until the point when Waynes camcorder died, when the glass suddenly began moving much more vigorously and spelled out the word ‘kill’ for us. At this point we decided that it would be wise to end the session and did so.
It seems that there is a legend of sorts attached to the building which tells of the murder of two children by a woman. So were we actually picking up a spirit presence here, or was what was happening linked in some way to the legend - - the story is said to be one invented purely for the purpose of drawing the crowds in for certain events, such as Halloween. - - or is there a grain of truth in the story – who knows??
An interesting night, in the remains of what must once have been a beautiful building. I just hope we didn’t frighten the members of staff too much - - - are they now too scared to go to work??????????????
Steve Gilbert
The most interesting occurance during the evening was on the baseline tests in the cellar when just myself and Justin were the last remaining souls to climb the ladder out. There was an almighty bang of sorts against the boiler/appliance in the end of the space. It appeared louder than the possible stone lying on the top of it could have caused, but regrettably nobody saw the event to be able to cast a opinion on its origin.
Promising start then but regrettably what followed failed to impress me in an unexplainable sense.
The Opera House has the ability to throw a strange acoustic dimension at you that makes you think a sound is nearer or further than it is and again the shape of a perfectly natural sound is therefore distorted and could lead you to think you are not alone. However it’s grand old stage must compare with Liverpools Cavern Club (early Beatles venue) in the sense that its hosted up and coming Supergroups within its walls over the years.
The locked off camera has produced nothing on tape either but hey- after all’s said and done if your looking for an usual way to spend your birthday – then try this !
Emma Carter
Group séance Dance floor
Arrived at 9.30 and the bar manager Keith took us up stairs and showed us where we could put our stuff. We sat and waited for the rest of the group to arrive then some of us where showed around.
Group séance.
We all sat in a circle on the dance floor and held hands. We all heard loads of knocks and taps all around us. Myself and Brian started to feel really cold but that was down to the draft coming from 1 of the fire exits. We stood up and moved to the outer dance floor and continued standing up, nothing much happened just loads more knocks and taps. We all heard something like a hand dryer going of so Alison went and checked but could not find where it was coming from. Nothing else happened so Alison closed the séance down.
Vigil 1 Balcony
We got into our groups myself, sue (mum), Maureen and Keith went to the balcony. Sue caught 2 light anomalies on her camcorder. I sat on my own for a while and heard footsteps behind me so moved over to where my mum was. Keith stated to feel very nervous so I went and sat with him for the rest of the vigil but didn’t really hear or see any thing.
Vigil 2 Benedict’s back bar
We where joined by Harri, David, Wayne and Justin. Keith found us a table and got us a glass so we could do a glass divination. Keith & I sat out side the circle as we did not want to join. Also sue and Maureen sat out to take pictures and video.
We heard lots of taps and bangs. Picked up on a lady and/or a small child, the glass stared to move very little and was tilting. After a while the glass completely stopped so Harri closed the table down.
Vigil 3 Upstairs offices
We sat around a large table and put the letters and numbers around. As in the back bar myself sue Keith and Maureen did not join in. sue and Keith where recording while I decided to stand and watch. There was constant taps on and under the table every time a question was asked. The glass started to move a little and tilt then started to move more angrily and go to letters but didn’t seem to make any sense. After asking a few questions we found out it was a man he spelt out GO and KILL and then he started to get very angry and move the glass around the table. We decided to close the table so a protection pray was said and the table was closed down.
All in all I really enjoyed myself and wasn’t as scared as I thought I would be. I thought if something happened then it would stop me from clubbing there but it hasn’t. I would love to go back to see if we can find out anymore about that man and anything else that has happened in there all those years ago. xxx
Conclusion
Well what can we say about the Opera House Investigation other than what a wonderful way to start the New Year!
The whole building at night and empty has the kind of atmosphere that all good thriller films are made of. You can not help but get the feeling that you are not alone,
In many of our reports conclusions we say how different the atmosphere is in a location between when it is open to the public / trading and when it is empty and closed but it has never so obviously been the case as it was the night of our investigation. I never imagined I would see a nightclub on a Saturday night as empty and quiet as it was when we saw it. As the club is only closed the one Saturday night of the year (the one after New Year) we felt extremely privileged to be there after dark having the entire building to ourselves.
I have always wanted to investigate a theatre and although now a nightclub, as a listed building it has kept most original features and so with out the clubbers and partygoers you really feel like you are in a theatre.
As you listen you can hear that the acoustics of the building magnify any little sound and the creaking of the wood in the balcony and on the stage leaves you feeling a little on edge but mostly in awe!
The teams experienced quite a few things during the night and as usual there is a mixed response to whether we consider these to be of paranormal nature or not. Are some of the 100’s of entertainers that have passed through the Opera Houses doors, still treading the boards they once knew and probably loved or do our imaginations in such an old and magnificent building will us to believe they are?
It is impossible to tell and that’s why we would love to return to the Opera House soon to continue our investigation.
We thank Alice and the management of the Venue for making our visit possible and special thanks to Keith who not only accompanied us all night but was happy to join in and try and experience something for himself.